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Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Contemplate and Celebrate You

Take the time to
peacefully contemplate

Contemplating who you are can be an overwhelming prospect. Immediately, questions arise about where to begin and what you hope to get out of such an all-encompassing undertaking. If you read Chantel's last post and attempted the success inventory that she recommended, you have already taken a step on the path of contemplating and celebrating you.

One of the first things we realize when we complete a success inventory is that success is determined by much more than finances and status. Success occurs in every part of our lives, especially those areas that feel enriched and satisfied. Therefore, not only does a success inventory allow you to begin to contemplate who you are, but it affords you the opportunity to celebrate you by acknowledging the successes that you've had in your life.

Over the next several weeks, Chantel and I intend to provide you with tools that allow you to understand yourself in new ways, acknowledge aspects of who you are that you may not currently recognize, and build on and support those positive features. Through this series of posts and exercises, we hope that you will increase your ability to engage your inner wisdom by gaining a stronger understanding of who you are and what aspects of who you are you would like to accentuate. We do this, in part, through the idea of success, because success is a measure of accomplishment and, when we see all that we are accomplishing in our lives, we feel enriched and empowered.

There are many ways that you can approach the idea of contemplating you, but the bottom line is that you must choose a method with which you are comfortable or that you are at least willing to try. The method that I use most regularly is consulting the Runes, but I know not everyone works with the Runes. Other ways you can consider include writing about it, meditating, going for a walk in nature or listening to music; whatever will help you focus and concentrate. Still, I will give you an example using the Runes that is easily adaptable to all of these other ways of contemplation.

Mannaz is the Rune of self. It represents everything that makes us human, the good and the bad. Within its meaning, for me, is the whole truth of who I am. I merely need to ask questions of myself about myself and be honest, without judging or being critical.

Holding this Rune in my hand, I sat and contemplated the following questions from a purely human perspective. So as not to be overwhelmed, I focused on one aspect of me - what makes me unique - and built every other question around that idea.

What makes me unique? How are you unique among your family or friends? At work? Pick one thing. Are you a good cook? Are you a terrible cook, but have one thing you make really well? Do you excel at a sport or an art form? Do you volunteer? It doesn't matter if other people do it, because no one does it exactly the way you do.

How do I use this aspect of me in my life? If you are not using this aspect of yourself, your next question should be why and think about how you could incorporate it into your life; or is it an aspect whose influence you would like to reduce?

Why do I use it this way? How could I use it differently or in another part of my life? Really think about all the ways you can incorporate some unique aspect of you into your life. It can be in very subtle ways. Sometimes those are the most powerful.

What successes has this aspect of me brought to my life and/or to others? This is your success inventory for this unique aspect of you.

How do you feel about this realization? Now it's time to celebrate this part of you. Celebrate acknowledging this feature of yours. Celebrate the role it plays in your life and the fact that you considered other ways to use it.

It is important to realize that you are a unique individual and to celebrate those attributes which make you unique. This is one step in contemplating the complexity of you and empowering yourself by appreciating your uniqueness and how it helps make you who you are.Practice Engaging Your Inner Wisdom: I've given you a handful of questions that allow you to contemplate one aspect of you that makes you unique. To contemplate these questions, I sat quietly and held a Rune in my hand, the Rune of self, because that is empowering for me. You must find your own mode of contemplation, but I've also given some options to get you thinking about how you'd like to focus on one of your unique attributes. Maybe you need to sit on a rock in the mountains or in a chair at the beach. Maybe you process things through writing or while you listen to music. Decide on an approach and spend 10-15 minutes thinking about these questions.

Once you've completed this exercise, I encourage you to share your experience by leaving a comment on this post. And, remember, you can contact us at any time if you would like additional guidance.